KF27 E5526 19868 COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan, Chairman JAMES H. SCHEUER, New York W.J. "BILLY" TAUZIN, Louisiana RON WYDEN, Oregon BILL RICHARDSON, New Mexico GERRY SIKORSKI, Minnesota NORMAN F. LENT, New York MATTHEW J. RINALDO, New Jersey THOMAS J. BLILEY, JR., Virginia MICHAEL G. OXLEY, Ohio CONTENTS Backus, Robert A., on behalf of Seacoast Anti-Pollution League Brown, Edward A., president, New Hampshire Yankee Division, Public Comley, Stephen, director, Because We Care About Rowley and You. Costello, Nicholas J., Chairman, Senate Energy Committee, Common- Hildt, Barbara, Representative, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Hollingworth, Beverly, Representative, State of New Hampshire. MacDonald, David, civil defense director, Rye, NH McEachern, Paul, counsel, Hampton, NH.. Mavroules, Hon. Nicholas, a Representative in Congress from the State of Mitchell, Sandra Fowler, civil defense director, Kensington, NH. Mohl, Bruce E., deputy attorney general, State of New Hampshire. Moughan, Thomas F., director, Citizens Within the Ten Mile Radius Noonan, Vincent S., Project Director, Seabrook Project, Nuclear Regula- Palumbo, Thomas G., Representative, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.... Perry, Spence W., General Counsel, Federal Emergency Management Pollard, Sharon, Secretary of Energy, Commonwealth of Massachusetts..... Shadis, Raymond G., New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution.. Shimshak, Rachel, energy advocate, Massachusetts Public Interest Re- Material submitted for the record by: Costello, Nicholas J.: Massachusetts State senator, letter, November 20, 640 Dukakis, Gov. Michael S.: Letter to Governor Dukakis from Members of Congress representing 103 Responses to subcommittee questions 116 Statement regarding Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, September 20, 86 Energy Conservation and Power Subcommittee: Memorandum from David Ward, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, NRC, to Lando W. Zech, Jr., Chairman, NRC, Material submitted for the record by-Continued Energy Conservation and Power Subcommittee-Continued Page Public Service of New Hampshire: Correspondence and responses to 503 Staff memorandum and chronology of meetings...... 5 Federal Emergency Management Agency: Correspondence and responses to subcommittee questions..... 252 Kennedy, Hon. Edward M., a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts, statement. 188 Kerry, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts, statement.. 148 Kunin, Madeleine M., Governor, State of Vermont, letter, November 24, 1986. 646 Lord, William S., selectman, Amesbury, MA: Letter to Gov. Michael S. Dukakis from Office of the Mayor, city of 606 Newspaper articles..... 609 Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group: Survey dated September 1986. 578 Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Correspondence and responses to subcommittee questions..... 310 Speck, Samuel, former associate director for State and Local Programs and Support, FEMA, affidavit... 146 Sununu, Gov. John H., of New Hampshire: Correspondence with Chairman Markey concerning questions submitted and answers to the questions... 123 EMERGENCY PLANNING AT SEABROOK NUCLEAR POWERPLANT TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1986 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY CONSERVATION AND POWER, Amesbury, MA. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. at the Amesbury High School, Amesbury, MA, Hon. Edward J. Markey, chairman, presiding. Mr. MARKEY. Today's hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Power on the Seabrook nuclear power plant will now come to order. I want to emphasize at the outset that I intend to conduct this hearing with the complete decorum that routinely characterizes Congressional hearings. I understand that passions on both sides of the issue run high. Nevertheless, whether you agree or disagree with the remarks of any particular speaker, I ask your cooperation in refraining from applause or derision. As Chairman of the subcommittee, with special institutional responsibilities, I cannot and will not tolerate outbursts of any kind. Nobody's interests are served by disruptions to this hearing. Before proceeding with the business of today's hearing, let me take a brief moment to eliminate any confusion about the focus of our hearing that might have arisen as a result of yesterday's press conference held by Public Service of New Hampshire. This hearing does not deal with the potential safety implications of alleged rampant drug and alcohol abuse at Seabrook. That very serious topic will be dealt with at the conclusion of the subcommittee's continuing investigation of that matter. For today, I simply want to tell you that the subcommittee did not initiate the drug and alcohol investigation on its own. It did so in response to the pleas of a significant number of former plant workers and medical professionals in the Seabrook vicinity, who informed the subcommittee that drug and alcohol use during the construction of the plant was so pervasive that it must have had an adverse impact on construction quality, and, therefore, ultimately on safety. Quite frankly, these witnesses did not trust either the utility who they feared would intimidate and harass them, or the NRC, to undertake this investigation. (1) As Chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over all matters affecting nuclear energy, I would have been derelict in my obligations had I not undertaken an investigation of their allegations. Until yesterday, Public Service of New Hampshire had been stonewalling. They had not made available any records sought by the subcommittee. They had prevented a key witness from being interviewed by the subcommittee. They had refused to even speak directly with the subcommittee staff, instead channeling all calls through legal counsel. Yesterday marked the first glimmer of utility responsiveness to the subcommittee investigation. The timing and the manner of the utility's response, however, raise more questions than they answer. Although Public Service of New Hampshire unveiled a lot of favorable statistics, it sill has not provided the subcommittee access to the underlying records or to the records which the subcommittee understands exist which allegedly point in a very different direction. Statistics can tell a complete story, many stories, or almost any story you would like them to tell. The data released by the utility yesterday is not consistent with the evidence in the possession of the subcommittee. Yesterday's utility press conference did not spell the end of the subcommittee's investigation but rather marked the beginning of the utility's cooperation in that investigation. The subcommittee's investigation will continue in a thorough, professional and deliberate fashion until I believe that reasonable conclusions and recommendations can be made. My immediate concern is that yesterday's public relations ploy by Public Service of New Hampshire not divert people's attention from the extremely important subject of emergency planning, which is the focus of today's hearing. Resolution of the emergency planning issues to be discussed today will have a direct bearing on when and whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission grants a full power operating license for Seabrook. The purpose of today's hearing is to explore some of the serious issues related to emergency planning at the Seabrook nuclear power plant. The catastrophic reactor accident at Chernobyl has left all of us with no doubt that nuclear accidents can happen. The threat of an accident requires that regulatory authorities consider what actions must be taken to protect the public. The issues before us are not only questions of fact and judgment, but more importantly the integrity of the regulatory process by which such questions must be evaluated and decisions reached. The subcommittee has conducted an investigation into how critical issues related to emergency planning at Seabrook have been addressed by the utility, Federal regulatory authorities, and State and local governments. Although our investigation is not complete, what we have learned to date has been disturbing. We have uncovered a concerted effort by the utility, Public Service of New Hampshire, the Governor of New Hampshire, and the Staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to expedite the licensing process for Seabrook, even if that means excluding the legitimate interests and participation of the citizens of Massachusetts. Let me be specific. |